Harry Potter Month: Slytherin Stereotype

Okay, I have a confession to make—I haven’t always been proud to be a Slytherin. Like most children first introduced to the Harry Potter series and movies, I admired Harry and the bravery that came with being a Gryffindor. I always associated myself with Gryffindor and looked down on the other houses. Ravenclaw was all right, but Hufflepuff and Slytherin were bad houses. And when Pottermore came out with the real Sorting Hat quiz, I just knew that I was going to be in Gryffindor! Imagine my surprise and distress when I took the official Sorting Hat quiz and ended up in . . . Slytherin. I must have taken the quiz three different times but I always ended up with the same result.

Eventually, after reading the little blurb about Slytherin in Pottermore and learning that Merlin was a Slytherin, I embraced my house. Obviously, now that I’ve matured a little and learned more about the different houses, I’ve come to appreciate Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin as much as I appreciated Gryffindor. But now my favorite house is, hands-down, Slytherin! I’m extremely proud of my house and I like the “Slytherin” qualities that I have, such as being ambitious and cunning.

The Slytherin stereotype that is unintentionally displayed in the series now annoys me. Just because you’re in Slytherin doesn’t mean you are evil. Harry Potter was almost placed in Slytherin and some of our notable alumni include Regulus, who turned out to be a hero, Snape, who was an awesome asset to Dumbledore’s Army, and like I mentioned before, Merlin! I wouldn’t want to be in any other house now, even though they are all awesome. I’m a Slytherin through and through.

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Heh! I ALWAYS thought I'd be Ravenclaw, as much as I admired Gryffindor but the first time I took the Pottermore Sorting Hat Quiz, it boiled down to Hufflepuff and Slytherin O.O so I chose Hufflepuff and then took the quiz again, only to be sorted in Gryffindor. I never got Ravenclaw much to my surprise and dismay. Now, I kind of wish I'd stuck with Hufflepuff because it's like you said, I've matured and can appreciate ALL of the Houses for their qualities. I SO WISH that Harry and the rest of the trio had befriended AT LEAST ONE Slytherin. Even if it had been rocky at first, I just wish that one Slytherin had surprised them and ended up on their side. I think it's totally unfair that they're seen as villains through and through. But hey, it's seriously cool that you guys got MERLIN ♥ - albeit, after the fact...

That's so cool that the Sorting Hat gave you a choice between two houses on Pottermore! I don't know how you made a decision, I would've been completely torn if I had to choose, lol. Yes! It would have been lovely for the trio to befriend a Slytherin student during their time at Hogwarts. A Slytherin's perspective on the events in the series would have been so interesting.

I'm so glad you've embraced your house! I have a similar story to yours but my house is Hufflepuff! I took the Pottermore test thinking that I was a Gryffindor and knowing I wouldn't be in Slytherin. Ravenclaw was a second doable option, but I didn't even give a thought to Hufflepuff. So imagine my surprise when not only did I not get into Gryffindor, but I was sorted into a house that I hadn't prepared myself for. It was not a great moment. I may be a little too attached to this series. My friends tell me that there was a very serious difference in my being for a week after I took the test. I eventually got over my Gryffindor complex and embraced my Hufflepuff character traits. Now I boast to everyone I meet that I'm a Hufflepuff!

I do feel sad about the stereotype that's perpetuated in the books about Slytherin. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin." I wish we would have seen the great good side of Slytherin in these books.

I was in the same emotional boat as you after the Sorting Hat placed me in my house. I'm glad to hear that you embraced Hufflepuff though! I feel like Hufflepuff and Slytherin are the two houses that aren't given as much spotlight or attention in the series, but through Pottermore you can learn so much more about the houses, which is great. I'm also the boasting type when it comes to telling people that I'm in Slytherin, haha. Yeah, I wish we could have seen some really good Slytherins in the book too. I think Snape alone speaks volumes for the house, which is good, but he's still not as much of a popular character as Harry or Luna is.

I am Slytherin too! And I admit when I found out I was pretty upset because the first word to come to mind was "evil". But then I read Rowling's letter on Pottermore and I thought - "OK this does kind of sound like me" and the biggest word I latched on to was "loyal". Slytherin's are very loyal. So even though we may be cunning and ambitious we won't sell out our friends. And I've learned to embrace it too. #SlytherinPride! :)

Thank you for this post =D. I'm not Slytherin, but as I got older and re-read the books, I didn't like how everyone in Slytherin was horrible. If you got into Slytherin you were an evil person who wanted to take over the world. It annoyed me especially after realizing the Slytherin stereotype I realized every house but Gryffindor had a stereotype. Hufflepuffs were lazy and stupid, which doesn't make sense because Hufflepuff is all about working hard and loyalty, and Ravenclaw's were stuck up. That's why I really appreciated Cedric's character in the Goblet of Fire because it showed Hufflepuff in a good light for once :D

Whenever someone says they don't like the Hufflepuff house or it's a useless house I always point out that J.K Rowling once said that her favorite house was Hufflepuff and she wished she got sorted into it. Enough said =D

I was also very grateful that Cedric showed a different side of Hufflepuff! Cedric was a great wizard and he almost won the Tri-Wizard Tournament. And, yes, it means a lot that JKR spoke up and showed her favoritism for Hufflepuff. :)

I feel the same, Ally! I appreciated the houses for what they were, all except for Slytherin, throughout the books. They're just painted as the bad, evil guys, and in such a way that I never felt any connection or love for them, although now I feel like there is much more to a Slytherin than the few of them who turn out to be evil. I don't know what house I thought I'd be in, before Pottermore, for a time it was any but Slytherin, although I believe I imagnied Hufflepuff or Gryffindor; I'm Ravenclaw and I feel like it is so perfect for me. I don't imagine I could be another house, because the attributes fit me perfectly.x

Exactly! The evil Slytherins are the more prominent Slytherin characters in the series. The stigma that follows my house because of certain characters, like Voldemort, suck. I feel that same way about Slytherin attributes fitting me perfectly. :)

I always worried about how people would react to being placed in Slytherin after being told that they're evil for 7 books and 8 movies. I'm sorry that it was distressing to you at first, but I'm glad you embraced it proudly!

I love all the houses for different reasons and can see myself in all but Gryffindor (which is kind of sad), so by the time I took the quiz I was ready to embrace my house. I was always kind of partial to Slytherin, but when I got placed there it solidified my love for it. My sister also got placed there which is amazing!

Lol, thanks! :D I'm curious to know why you can't see yourself in Gryffindor because I feel like Gryffindor is one of the more relatable houses. Pretty much all of my family members are in different houses but it's awesome that you and your sister are in Slytherin together! Yes, Go Slytherin!!

I know I thought I would be in Ravenclaw (my son did too) and imagine our surprise when we were both placed in Hufflepuff. Like you, I've grown fond of the house Pottermore placed me in since I value loyalty above everything else. Harry is told that there's not a witch or wizard that has gone bad that wasn't in Slytherin (he didn't know about Wormtail yet obviously) so that's the stigma on the house. I think it's because the house is known to have those that are ambitious and villains often seek out power. That definitely doesn't include EVERYONE in the house though. Like you said, some great wizards are Slytherin. Don't forget about Slughorn :D He fought valiantly in The Battle of Hogwarts and ultimately gave Harry the information he needed to start his journey on defeating Voldemort.

That's actually pretty cool that you and your son got sorted into the same house, it must run in the family, lol! That's a good point about Wormtail. He was a Gryffindor and he ended up turning bad. Yeah, I agree about ambition being confused with evil. I know that I can be very ambitious and determined, which can sometimes come off as a little intense. Haha, yes, we mustn't forget about Slughorn! :)